Fragments
by swiftasanarrow
Summary: People say that if you wish on a falling star, your wish will surely be granted. Yata Misaki does not believe in such silly things. He grew out of the childish naivety when his best friend and partner betrayed him.


_For my dearest cousin, Cara. Wake up soon._

* * *

People say that if you wish on a falling star, your wish will surely be granted. Yata Misaki does not believe in such silly things. He grew out of the childish naivety when his best friend and partner betrayed him. He believes strongly in the here and now, not what he calls 'airy fairy whims'.

He doesn't know what drives him to make this wish. It's snowing and he's freezing and all he wants to do is get home, crank up the heater and curl up under his blankets. His skateboard hits a rock and strangely enough, this unbalances him and he nearly falls off. He takes a glance skywards and sees a streak of light across the sky. Unconsciously, he thinks _I wish I had Saru back, the old Saru from when we were partners._

He shakes his head immediately. He won't allow himself to long for that stupid monkey. No matter how much he misses him. Surely Saruhiko hates him now. Their last encounter seems to be proof of that. He'll never forget the mocking look on Saruhiko's face or that manic gleam in his eyes.

Misaki gets home safely and flicks the heater switch on before collapsing on his bed and drawing the blankets around him. Being part of the Red Clan hasn't done anything for his hatred of cold. He thinks back to the days before HOMRA, back to when he and Saruhiko were out on the streets. They used to curl up together on nights like this, sharing body heat, hoping they wouldn't wake up to find out that the other had frozen to death during the night. He shakes his head to clear it of all those thoughts. What's wrong with him tonight?

Sleep eventually claims him. He dreams of his days with Saruhiko that night.

Misaki wakes to an unusually warm bed the next morning. He thinks nothing of it and tries to roll over. Something's preventing him, though, and he tries again with more force.

"Tch, Misaki. Stop fidgeting so much."

Misaki's eyes fly open in shock. They meet a pair of irritated azure eyes.

"S-Saru! What are you doing here? How did you get in?" Misaki sits up in shock, dragging the blankets with him.

Saruhiko tugs at the sheets in annoyance. "I live here, you idiot. Did you fall down and hit your head or something?"

Misaki does a double take. He looks at Saruhiko like he's never seen him before. Strangely enough, his hair is back to its old floppy style without his usual distinct parting on the right. Misaki glances around the room and sees things that weren't there before. What stands out the most are Saruhiko's old throwing knives on the table. Those definitely weren't there last night. A movement beside him distracts him and he turns to face Saruhiko just as he raises a hand to scratch his head. His loose T-shirt slips off his shoulder, baring his HOMRA tattoo. Unlike the last time Misaki saw it, it's whole and unmarred.

He thinks his brain processes stall as he surges forward to bury his face in Saruhiko's shoulder and throw his arms around him. Saruhiko stiffens for a second before carding his fingers through Misaki's hair to stroke his head.

"There's something wrong with you today, Misaki," he sighs as his hands move down to Misaki's back.

Misaki shakes his head. "I'm just glad you're here."

Frankly, Misaki's shocked that Saruhiko's here and acting just like he did before he left. How can this be possible? _Don't tell me…_

It looks like wishful thinking can actually have some results. It seems like Saruhiko's back by his side and he's here to stay.

They get out of bed and Saruhiko goes to rummage for clothes in the cupboard while Misaki attempts to pick up a few somewhat clean articles of clothing off the floor. His eyes widen slightly as Saruhiko straightens up with his usual long-sleeved shirt, blue jacket and pants. He's still disbelieving as Saruhiko heads to the bathroom.

Through the rest of the day, Misaki feels like he's in a dream. Saruhiko is _here_ and still part of _HOMRA_ and he _never left_. He's sure this illusion will shatter and it'll be back to him living alone and hating Saruhiko.

"Hey, Misaki!" Saruhiko snaps his fingers in Misaki's face. He presses his palm to Misaki's forehead as a worried look crosses his face. "Are you sick or something? You're really acting weird."

Misaki's forgotten how Saruhiko used to actually show flashes of emotion. Lately, the Saruhiko he's known hasn't been showing any emotion other than his manic glee on the battlefield.

It takes a second before he responds, head jerking up suddenly. "Huh, I'm fine."

Saruhiko's eyebrows crease. "Make sure you keep warm when you go out. We can't have you getting sick again."

Misaki hums in assent. They go through the rest of the day with Misaki in a slight daze. Saruhiko kicks up a fuss and drags him to bed early despite Misaki's vehement protests that he's not at risk of falling ill whatsoever. His protests fall on deaf ears as Saruhiko efficiently strips him, yanks an oversized T-shirt over his head and tucks him under the covers, whispering that he'll join him soon.

Misaki's forgotten how comforting it feels to fall asleep with someone's arms around you, especially if that someone happens to be Saruhiko. He turns towards Saruhiko and curls up against his chest, tangling their legs together. They fall asleep like that.

The next few days pass in an alternating pattern of Misaki waking up first and just staring at Saruhiko like he still can't believe he's there and Saruhiko waking up first and dragging Misaki out of bed to eat whatever he's cooked. Saruhiko never leaves the house, though. His excuse is that he needs to clean up the place or that he's tired. Misaki shrugs; Saruhiko's known for his lethargy anyway. He doesn't give any further thought to the matter. As long as Saruhiko's there to welcome him back with a warm hug every day, he doesn't care that he never leaves the house.

This goes on for two weeks and Misaki couldn't be happier. He's stopped wearing his beanie. Saruhiko complained that it got in the way of him ruffling Misaki's hair. For some reason, this has attracted weird stares from everyone else at HOMRA and Izumo's been shooting him concerned glances from time to time. Misaki ignores them. He's happier than he's been in a while and he's significantly less hot-headed and violent. Since Saruhiko's been back, he's regained a sense of balance in his life. He feels like he's being warmed from the inside and be vaguely wonders if this is what love feels like.

One day, he's in a great mood. Saruhiko's promised to make him his favourite food for dinner. He's nearly there when he bumps into Awashima Seri. She doesn't look up at him, but he can see the distinctly worried look on her face. He knows she frequents HOMRA when she wants to talk to Izumo. It must be something pretty serious for her to show her worry that openly.

He's just gotten through the door when Izumo calls him.

"You haven't heard about Fushimi lately, have you?"

Misaki doesn't give a straight answer. "Why? What was the Lieutenant here for?"

Izumo sighs. "She's worried sick about him. Nearly broke down in tears when she called me yesterday night."

Misaki stops short. He opens his mouth to ask another question but no sound comes out. _But Saru's fine! He's at my place!_

"Fushimi's been in a coma for two weeks. He didn't turn up to work one day so Seri went to check on him. She found him unconscious in bed with a sky-high temperature. He hasn't woken up and she's worried. The whole of Scepter4 is." Izumo narrows his eyes. "Considering your relationship with him, I would have thought you knew."

Misaki's mouth is still hanging open as he stumbles backwards, reality hitting him hard. Those two weeks with Saru, _two weeks, two weeks. Shit! I did this to him!_

Misaki turns and runs back home. Saruhiko is there to open the door for him and let him in. The first thing Misaki does is to raise his hand and slap him with all his strength.

"Ow! Misaki, what are you…"

"Shut up! You're not real! You're just a figment of my imagination," Misaki practically screams.

Saruhiko tries to pull Misaki into his arms but Misaki throws him back with all the force he can muster.

"I need to go find him," Misaki whispers to himself as he turns and runs out the door. Tears sting his eyes as he skates to the hospital. As he reaches the reception desk, he demands to see Saruhiko. Perhaps more out of fear than anything else, the receptionist gives him the room number and Misaki races there.

He practically collapses at Saruhiko's bedside. He's cold, unmoving and barely breathing. Various tubes obscure the bottom half of his face and he looks so vulnerable. His glasses are on a small table beside the bed. A half-used box of tissues sits next to them. Misaki chalks this up to Awashima even though he's never seen her cry. He reaches out to ruffle Saruhiko's hair. It's still vaguely parted on the right and Misaki messes it up so that he looks like he did when he was in HOMRA. His face is a lot paler than it normally is. The slow beep of the heart monitor isn't doing anything for Misaki either.

He can't take it anymore and breaks down, sobbing against Saruhiko's chest. He cries until his tears run dry and he takes Saruhiko's hand and presses it against his face. He still can't help thinking that this is all his fault. If he hadn't made that senseless wish, Saruhiko would be awake and life would have gone on as usual. He stays there until visiting hours are up and the nurses come to escort him out. He kisses Saruhiko's forehead before he leaves and softly promises to be back again tomorrow.

Instead of going back home, Misaki goes instead to Saruhiko's small apartment. He expects a huge mess, but the apartment is surprisingly neat and sparsely furnished. He curls up on Saruhiko's bed, surrounded by his scent and allowing himself to be comforted by it.

Tomorrow comes and Misaki takes his place by Saruhiko's bedside. He rambles on and on to no one in particular about how much he's missed Saruhiko after he left. He finds himself choking up when he talks about how much he misses the little things Saruhiko would do for him. He can't take it anymore and once again he finds himself crying. He threads his fingers together with Saruhiko's unmoving ones as he leans forwards to kiss his forehead again.

"I love you, you idiot. This is the first time I've realised it. So wake up, damnit, so that I can say it to you when you're awake."

Misaki wishes that Saruhiko's face wasn't blocked by all those tubes. He'd love to stroke his face and maybe kiss him. He doesn't dare touch them though. He's 'lost' Saruhiko once before and he's not eager to lose him for real this time. He settles instead for resting his head on Saruhiko's chest, listening to his heartbeat and willing him to wake up.

Visiting hours are nearly up and Misaki stands up to leave. He ruffles Saruhiko's hair before he leaves and promises again to be back the next day. He's probably imagining it, but he thinks he hears Saruhiko sigh. He peers closely at his face and there it is, his eyelids are unmistakeably twitching. _Is he waking up?_

Misaki hits the nurse call button as he takes Saruhiko's hand and squeezes it. Barely perceptible, Saruhiko squeezes back. A nurse comes in to check the readings on the various machines that Saruhiko's hooked up to. She nods at Misaki, smiling. "He's awake," she says and Misaki feels like exploding with happiness.

Saruhiko's eyes open slightly as the nurse removes the ventilation tubes from his mouth, freeing his face.

"Saru…" Tears fill Misaki's eyes and threaten to spill down his cheeks.

"Mi~sa~ki…" Saruhiko murmurs before closing his eyes again.

Misaki thanks the nurse before he leaves. He needs to tell everyone that Saruhiko's awake. He can't contain himself as he bursts through HOMRA's doors shouting "Saru's awake!"

Saruhiko's recovery is slow. He's still unconscious for a good part of the day, though he's awake for the visitors he gets from HOMRA and Scepter4 alike. He's slowly regaining speech and he's starting to move around a bit. The doctors say he'll be discharged in time for Christmas next week. Misaki's decided that Saruhiko will be moving in with him for now, at least until he fully recovers. After that, they'll see.

A week passes and Misaki's wheeling Saruhiko out of the ward in a wheelchair. He still can't walk, so he'll be largely dependent on Misaki until he can walk and function on his own again. He's clearly irritable about this, having been fiercely independent from living on the streets. Then again, he's always needed and wanted Misaki around, so maybe being dependent on him isn't so bad after all.

It's Christmas Eve and Saruhiko is getting restless. He hates being stuck in the wheelchair and demands that he be allowed to walk. Misaki indulges him for once and supporting Saruhiko's weight, they walk to the top of a nearby hill with a view of the city. They sit there talking about nothing in particular until nightfall. Well, Misaki talks and Saruhiko listens. Looking back, neither of them can remember ever being happier.

Saruhiko eventually silences Misaki's chatter as he pulls him in for a kiss. He chuckles as Misaki's face turns red to match his scarf as he splutters. "What's wrong, Misaki?"

Misaki answers him with another kiss. "I love you, you stupid monkey," he whispers as he pulls away.

Saruhiko holds him close, stroking his head like he always used to. "I love you too, Misaki."

They stay like that as the stars come out overhead, casting their light over the city. It seems Misaki got his wish after all. He has Saruhiko by his side, as if he never left.

* * *

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! Forgive me for imposing my feelings on Saruhiko and Misaki, I really needed an outlet and well, this happened.


End file.
